Armenia’s union of traders urges local banks to restructure small &
medium business loans

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. The Union of Traders of Armenia (UTA) has
urged local banks to restructure loans to small and medium-scale
businesses.

According to UTA Chairman Tsolvard Gevorgyan, currency fluctuations and
the impact of the global crisis on Armenia have caused problems for
local small and medium enterprises in repaying their loans.

In the past years, local entrepreneurs attracted loans from banks, but
the crisis poses a real danger to their business, the UTA Chairman
said, urging the government to restructure loans to small and
medium-scale businesses.

She also called on local banks to declare a moratorium on credits,
enabling small and medium businesses to pay only interests. Reduction
of interest rates is another way out of the crisis, Gevorgyan said.
`The quicker they undertake steps to recover the situation, the fewer
losses the small and medium-scale businesses will suffer,’ she added.

Gevorgyan urged local entrepreneurs to be more cautious and think twice
before planning their long-range objectives amid the global financial
recession. `0–